Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request, 60702-60704 [E8-24339]

Download as PDF 60702 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 14, 2008 / Notices jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES divestiture reviews x 8 hours for preparing and participating)). Annual cost burden Using the burden hours estimated above, staff estimates that the total annual labor cost, based on a conservative estimated average of $425/ hour for executives’ and attorneys’ wages, would be approximately $68,000 (160 hours x $425). There are no capital, start-up, operation, maintenance, or other similar costs to respondents. Review of Competition Advocacy Program The FTC’s competition advocacy program draws on the Commission’s expertise in competition and consumer protection matters to encourage federal and state legislators, courts and other state and federal agencies to consider the competitive effects of their proposed actions. The FTC Office of Policy Planning (‘‘OPP’’) sends approximately 20 letters or written comments to different state and federal government officials annually, which provide guidance on the likely competitive effects of various laws or regulations. In the past, OPP has evaluated the effectiveness of these advocacy comments by surveying comment recipients and other relevant decision makers. OPP intends to continue this evaluation by sending a written questionnaire to relevant parties between six and nine months after an advocacy comment is sent. Most of the questions ask the respondent to agree or disagree with a statement concerning the advocacy comment that they received. Specifically, these questions inquire as to the applicability, value, persuasive influence, public effect, and informative value of the FTC’s comments. The questionnaire also provides respondents with an opportunity to provide additional remarks related either to the written comments received or the FTC’s advocacy program in general. Participation is voluntary. OPP staff estimates that on average, respondents will take 30 minutes or less to complete the questionnaire and 15 minutes of administrative time to prepare the response for mailing. Accordingly, staff estimates that each respondent will incur 45 minutes of burden resulting in a cumulative total of 15 burden hours per year (45 minutes of burden per respondent x 20 respondents per year). OPP staff does not intend to conduct any follow-up activities that would involve the respondents’ participation. Annual cost burden VerDate Aug<31>2005 16:37 Oct 10, 2008 Jkt 217001 OPP staff estimates a conservative hourly labor cost of $100 for the time of the survey participants (primarily state representatives and senators) and an hourly labor cost of $16 for administrative support time. Thus, staff estimates a total labor cost of $54 for each response (30 minutes of burden at $100 per hour plus 15 minutes of burden at $16 per hour). Assuming 20 respondents will complete the questionnaire on an annual basis, staff estimates the total annual labor costs will be approximately $1,080 ($54 per response x 20 respondents). There are no capital, start-up, operation, maintenance, or other similar costs to respondents. (d) Applicant Tracking Form: 292 hours The FTC’s Human Resources Management Office surveys job applicants on their ethnicity, race, and disability status in order to determine if recruitment is effectively reaching all aspects of the relevant labor pool, in compliance with management directives from the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission. Response by applicants is optional. The information obtained is used for evaluating recruitment only and plays no part in the selection of who is hired. The information is not provided to selecting officials. Instead, the information is used in summary form to determine trends over many selections within a given occupational or organizational area. The information is treated in a confidential manner. No information from the form is entered into the official personnel file of the individual selected and all forms are destroyed after the conclusion of the selection process. The format of the questions on ethnicity and race are compliant with OMB requirements and comparable to those used by other agencies. Based upon past activity, the FTC staff estimates that up to 7,000 applicants will submit the form as part of the new online application process and that the form will require approximately 2.5 minutes to complete, for an annual burden total of approximately 292 hours (7000 applicants x 2.5 minutes to complete the form). Annual cost burden The cost per respondent should be negligible. Participation is voluntary and will not require any labor expenditures by respondents. There are no capital, start-up, operation, PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 maintenance, or other similar costs to the respondents. William Blumenthal, General Counsel. [FR Doc. E8–24296 Filed 10–10–08: 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6750–01–S FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request Federal Trade Commission (‘‘Commission’’ or ‘‘FTC’’). ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: SUMMARY: The FTC plans to conduct a study to examine consumer perception of environmental marketing claims. This activity is part of the Commission’s regulatory review of the Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (‘‘Green Guides’’ or ‘‘Guides’’). Before gathering this information, the FTC is seeking public comments on the proposed study. Comments will be considered before the FTC submits a request for Office of Management and Budget (‘‘OMB’’) review under the Paperwork Reduction Act (‘‘PRA’’). DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 15, 2008. ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments electronically or in paper form. Comments should refer to ‘‘Green Marketing Consumer Perception Study, Project No. P954501’’ to facilitate the organization of comments. Please note that comments will be placed on the public record of this proceeding— including on the publicly accessible FTC website, at (https://www.ftc.gov/os/ publiccomments.shtm) — and therefore should not include any sensitive or confidential information. In particular, comments should not include any sensitive personal information, such as an individual’s Social Security Number; date of birth; driver’s license number or other state identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number; financial account number; or credit or debit card number. Comments also should not include any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other individually identifiable health information. In addition, comments should not include any ‘‘[t]rade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential . . .,’’ as provided in Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and Commission Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2) (2008). Comments containing E:\FR\FM\14OCN1.SGM 14OCN1 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 14, 2008 / Notices jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES material for which confidential treatment is requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled ‘‘Confidential,’’ and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c).1 Because paper mail addressed to the FTC is subject to delay due to heightened security screening, please consider submitting your comments in electronic form. Comments filed in electronic form should be submitted by using the following weblink: (https:// secure.commentworks.com/ftcGreenGuidesReview) (and following the instructions on the web-based form). To ensure that the Commission considers an electronic comment, you must file it on the web-based form at the weblink (https://secure.commentworks.com/ftcGreenGuidesReview). If this Notice appears at (https://www.regulations.gov/ search/index.jsp), you may also file an electronic comment through that website. The Commission will consider all comments that regulations.gov forwards to it. You may also visit the FTC website at https://www.ftc.gov to read the Notice and the news release describing it. A comment filed in paper form should include the ‘‘Green Marketing Consumer Perception Study, Project No. P954501’’ reference both in the text and on the envelope, and should be mailed or delivered to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-135 (Annex J), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580. The FTC is requesting that any comment filed in paper form be sent by courier or overnight service, if possible, because U.S. postal mail in the Washington area and at the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security precautions. The FTC Act and other laws the Commission administers permit the collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments that it receives, whether filed in paper or electronic form. Comments received will be available to the public on the FTC website, to the extent practicable, at (https://www.ftc.gov/os/ publiccomments.shtm). As a matter of discretion, the Commission makes every effort to remove home contact 1 FTC Rule 4.2(d), 16 CFR 4.2(d). The comment must be accompanied by an explicit request for confidential treatment, including the factual and legal basis for the request, and must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from the public record. The request will be granted or denied by the Commission’s General Counsel, consistent with applicable law and the public interest. See FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c) (2008). VerDate Aug<31>2005 15:37 Oct 10, 2008 Jkt 217001 information for individuals from the public comments it receives before placing those comments on the FTC website. More information, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, may be found in the FTC’s privacy policy, at (https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/ privacy.shtm). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Koss, Attorney, 202-326-2890, or Michael J. Davis, Attorney, 202-3262458, Division of Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background The Commission issued the Green Guides, 16 CFR Part 260, to help marketers avoid making environmental claims that are unfair or deceptive under Section 5 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 45.2 Guides are administrative interpretations of the law. Therefore, they do not have the force and effect of law and are not independently enforceable. The Guides, however, are the Commission’s interpretation of Section 5 of the FTC Act as it applies to environmental marketing claims. The Commission, therefore, can take action under the FTC Act if a business makes environmental marketing claims inconsistent with the Guides. In any such enforcement action, the Commission must prove that the act or practice at issue is unfair or deceptive. The Green Guides outline general principles that apply to all environmental marketing claims and provide guidance regarding specific categories of environmental claims. These categories include: general environmental benefit claims, such as ‘‘environmentally friendly’’; degradable claims; compostable claims; recyclable claims; recycled content claims; source reduction claims; refillable claims; and ozone safe/ozone friendly claims. For each of these claims, the Green Guides explain how reasonable consumers are likely to interpret them. The Guides also describe the basic elements necessary to substantiate claims and present options for qualifying specific claims to avoid deception.3 The illustrative qualifications provide ‘‘safe harbors’’ for marketers who want certainty about how to make environmental claims, but do not represent the only permissible approaches to qualifying a claim. 2 The Commission issued the Green Guides in 1992, 57 FR 36363, and subsequently revised them in 1996 (61 FR 53311) and 1998 (63 FR 24240). 3 The Guides do not, however, establish standards for environmental performance or prescribe testing protocols. PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 60703 II. Regulatory Review of the Green Guides The Commission reviews all of its rules and guides periodically to examine their efficacy, costs, and benefits, and to determine whether to retain, modify, or rescind them. On November 26, 2007, the FTC commenced its review of the Green Guides and sought public comment.4 As part of this comprehensive review, the FTC also announced a series of public workshops to explore emerging environmental marketing issues and, through subsequent notices, opened public comment periods in connection with each workshop.5 The Commission sought comment on a number of issues, including the continuing need for and economic impact of the Guides, the effect of the Guides on the accuracy of environmental claims, and whether the Guides should illustrate certain environmental claims—such as carbon neutrality, sustainability, and renewability—not currently addressed in the Guides. The Commission also sought specific consumer survey evidence and consumer perception data addressing environmental claims. Few commenters submitted consumer survey evidence or consumer perception data. The Commission, therefore, is considering conducting its own consumer study related to consumer perception of environmental marketing claims. This study would aid the Commission in determining what revisions, if any, it should make to the Guides to ensure that the Guides are appropriately responsive to any changes in consumer perception of environmental claims. III. Paperwork Reduction Act Notice As required by Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-21, the FTC is providing this opportunity for public comment before requesting that OMB approve the study. Under the PRA, federal agencies must obtain OMB approval for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. ‘‘Collection of information’’ means agency requests or requirements that members of the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party. 44 U.S.C. 3502(3); 5 CFR 1320.3(c). Specifically, the FTC invites comments on: (1) whether the proposed collection of information is necessary 72 FR 66091. See 72 FR 66094, Carbon Offsets and Renewable Energy Certificates (held on January 8, 2008); 73 FR 11371, Green Packaging Claims (held on April 30, 2008); and 73 FR 32662, Green Building and Textiles (held on July 8, 2008). 4 5 E:\FR\FM\14OCN1.SGM 14OCN1 60704 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 14, 2008 / Notices understood. The FTC expects that the pre-test would take approximately 25 minutes on average per person, approximately 42 hours total (100 respondents x 25 minutes each). Once the pretest is completed, the FTC plans to seek information from up to 7,000 respondents for approximately 25 minutes each. Thus, answering the FTC’s information requests will require up to 2,917 hours total (7,000 respondents x 25 minutes each). Accordingly, cumulative total burden hours for the survey will be approximately 3,000 hours. The cost per respondent should be negligible. Participation is voluntary and will not require start-up, capital, or labor expenditures by respondents. By direction of the Commission. IV. FTC’s Proposed Study of Consumer Perception jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES for the proper performance of the functions of the FTC, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the FTC’s estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of collecting information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses. All comments should be filed as prescribed in the ADDRESSES section above, and must be received on or before December 15, 2008. Donald S. Clark, Secretary. [FR Doc. E8–24339 Filed 10–10–08: 8:45 am] The FTC proposes to collect information from up to 7,000 consumers in order to gather data on consumer perception of environmental marketing claims. All information will be collected on a voluntary basis. The FTC plans to contract with a consumer research firm to identify consumers and conduct the study via the Internet. Among other things, the research firm will be expected to study a stratified sample of the adult United States population broadly representative of consumer group characteristics (e.g., geographic location, housing characteristics, gender, age, education, and race/ ethnicity), relative to the most recent Census Bureau Current Population Survey. The FTC expects that selected respondents will be asked questions about a number of express or implied environmental marketing claim concepts, such as ‘‘renewable’’ and ‘‘sustainable.’’ Each concept may be featured in a separate module of questions. Such questions may explore perceptions about the unqualified general concept and variations on the concept. The results will assist the FTC in its review of the Green Guides by helping to ensure that the Green Guides are consistent with consumer perception of environmental marketing claims. The FTC is considering pre-testing the consumer questionnaires on approximately 100 respondents to ensure that all questions are easily VerDate Aug<31>2005 16:37 Oct 10, 2008 Jkt 217001 BILLING CODE 6750–01–S DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES [Document Identifier: OS–0990–New; 30-day notice] Agency Information Collection Request. 30-Day Public Comment Request Office of the Secretary, HHS. In compliance with the requirement of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of the Secretary (OS), Department of Health and Human Services, is publishing the following summary of a proposed collection for public comment. Interested persons are invited to send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including any of the following subjects: (1) The necessity and utility of the proposed information collection for the proper performance of the agency’s functions; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology to minimize the information collection burden. To obtain copies of the supporting statement and any related forms for the AGENCY: PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 proposed paperwork collections referenced above, e-mail your request, including your address, phone number, OMB number, and OS document identifier, to Sherette.funncoleman@hhs.gov, or call the Reports Clearance Office on (202) 690–5683. Send written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collections within 30 days of this notice directly to the OS OMB Desk Officer; faxed to OMB at 202–395– 6974. Proposed Project: Evaluating Institutions Research Misconduct Education Efforts—OMB No. 0990– NEW–Office of Research Integrity. Abstract: The Office of Research Integrity (ORI) is conducting this study of Research Misconduct Education in medical schools because these institutions are responsible for dissemination of information and guidelines to their faculty, staff, and students concerning the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) Policies on Research Misconduct (42 CFR Part 93). The ORI review of institutional research misconduct policies, investigation reports, requests for technical assistance in handling allegations, and analyses of filings of the Annual Report on Possible Research Misconduct (PHS 6349) have raised questions about the level of knowledge of medical school faculty conducting research and responding to allegations, and the faculty’s perception of their institution’s commitment to dealing with research misconduct. This study is designed to evaluate the knowledge of medical school faculty members about their institution’s policies and procedures and identify best practices and approaches used by medical institutions to produce the most positive perceptions of commitment and the best understanding of research misconduct. Also, the study will identify the areas of responsibility and specify the activities that institutions perform in the process of educating their employees to the meaning of scientific misconduct at their institutions. This will involve a one-time data collection effort. These researchers have been identified from a list of medical school principal investigators (PIs) that we obtained from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). All received NIH research projects awards in 2005 or 2006. E:\FR\FM\14OCN1.SGM 14OCN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 199 (Tuesday, October 14, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60702-60704]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-24339]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (``Commission'' or ``FTC'').

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The FTC plans to conduct a study to examine consumer 
perception of environmental marketing claims. This activity is part of 
the Commission's regulatory review of the Guides for the Use of 
Environmental Marketing Claims (``Green Guides'' or ``Guides''). Before 
gathering this information, the FTC is seeking public comments on the 
proposed study. Comments will be considered before the FTC submits a 
request for Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') review under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA'').

DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 15, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments 
electronically or in paper form. Comments should refer to ``Green 
Marketing Consumer Perception Study, Project No. P954501'' to 
facilitate the organization of comments. Please note that comments will 
be placed on the public record of this proceeding--including on the 
publicly accessible FTC website, at (https://www.ftc.gov/os/
publiccomments.shtm) -- and therefore should not include any sensitive 
or confidential information. In particular, comments should not include 
any sensitive personal information, such as an individual's Social 
Security Number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state 
identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number; 
financial account number; or credit or debit card number. Comments also 
should not include any sensitive health information, such as medical 
records or other individually identifiable health information. In 
addition, comments should not include any ``[t]rade secrets and 
commercial or financial information obtained from a person and 
privileged or confidential . . .,'' as provided in Section 6(f) of the 
FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and Commission Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 
4.10(a)(2) (2008). Comments containing

[[Page 60703]]

material for which confidential treatment is requested must be filed in 
paper form, must be clearly labeled ``Confidential,'' and must comply 
with FTC Rule 4.9(c).\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ FTC Rule 4.2(d), 16 CFR 4.2(d). The comment must be 
accompanied by an explicit request for confidential treatment, 
including the factual and legal basis for the request, and must 
identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from 
the public record. The request will be granted or denied by the 
Commission's General Counsel, consistent with applicable law and the 
public interest. See FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c) (2008).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Because paper mail addressed to the FTC is subject to delay due to 
heightened security screening, please consider submitting your comments 
in electronic form. Comments filed in electronic form should be 
submitted by using the following weblink: (https://
secure.commentworks.com/ftc-GreenGuidesReview) (and following the 
instructions on the web-based form). To ensure that the Commission 
considers an electronic comment, you must file it on the web-based form 
at the weblink (https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-GreenGuidesReview). 
If this Notice appears at (https://www.regulations.gov/search/
index.jsp), you may also file an electronic comment through that 
website. The Commission will consider all comments that regulations.gov 
forwards to it. You may also visit the FTC website at https://
www.ftc.gov to read the Notice and the news release describing it.
    A comment filed in paper form should include the ``Green Marketing 
Consumer Perception Study, Project No. P954501'' reference both in the 
text and on the envelope, and should be mailed or delivered to the 
following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 
Room H-135 (Annex J), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 
20580. The FTC is requesting that any comment filed in paper form be 
sent by courier or overnight service, if possible, because U.S. postal 
mail in the Washington area and at the Commission is subject to delay 
due to heightened security precautions.
    The FTC Act and other laws the Commission administers permit the 
collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as 
appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and responsive 
public comments that it receives, whether filed in paper or electronic 
form. Comments received will be available to the public on the FTC 
website, to the extent practicable, at (https://www.ftc.gov/os/
publiccomments.shtm). As a matter of discretion, the Commission makes 
every effort to remove home contact information for individuals from 
the public comments it receives before placing those comments on the 
FTC website. More information, including routine uses permitted by the 
Privacy Act, may be found in the FTC's privacy policy, at (https://
www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.shtm).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Koss, Attorney, 202-326-2890, or 
Michael J. Davis, Attorney, 202-326-2458, Division of Enforcement, 
Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The Commission issued the Green Guides, 16 CFR Part 260, to help 
marketers avoid making environmental claims that are unfair or 
deceptive under Section 5 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 45.\2\ Guides are 
administrative interpretations of the law. Therefore, they do not have 
the force and effect of law and are not independently enforceable. The 
Guides, however, are the Commission's interpretation of Section 5 of 
the FTC Act as it applies to environmental marketing claims. The 
Commission, therefore, can take action under the FTC Act if a business 
makes environmental marketing claims inconsistent with the Guides. In 
any such enforcement action, the Commission must prove that the act or 
practice at issue is unfair or deceptive.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ The Commission issued the Green Guides in 1992, 57 FR 36363, 
and subsequently revised them in 1996 (61 FR 53311) and 1998 (63 FR 
24240).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Green Guides outline general principles that apply to all 
environmental marketing claims and provide guidance regarding specific 
categories of environmental claims. These categories include: general 
environmental benefit claims, such as ``environmentally friendly''; 
degradable claims; compostable claims; recyclable claims; recycled 
content claims; source reduction claims; refillable claims; and ozone 
safe/ozone friendly claims. For each of these claims, the Green Guides 
explain how reasonable consumers are likely to interpret them. The 
Guides also describe the basic elements necessary to substantiate 
claims and present options for qualifying specific claims to avoid 
deception.\3\ The illustrative qualifications provide ``safe harbors'' 
for marketers who want certainty about how to make environmental 
claims, but do not represent the only permissible approaches to 
qualifying a claim.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ The Guides do not, however, establish standards for 
environmental performance or prescribe testing protocols.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

II. Regulatory Review of the Green Guides

    The Commission reviews all of its rules and guides periodically to 
examine their efficacy, costs, and benefits, and to determine whether 
to retain, modify, or rescind them. On November 26, 2007, the FTC 
commenced its review of the Green Guides and sought public comment.\4\ 
As part of this comprehensive review, the FTC also announced a series 
of public workshops to explore emerging environmental marketing issues 
and, through subsequent notices, opened public comment periods in 
connection with each workshop.\5\ The Commission sought comment on a 
number of issues, including the continuing need for and economic impact 
of the Guides, the effect of the Guides on the accuracy of 
environmental claims, and whether the Guides should illustrate certain 
environmental claims--such as carbon neutrality, sustainability, and 
renewability--not currently addressed in the Guides. The Commission 
also sought specific consumer survey evidence and consumer perception 
data addressing environmental claims. Few commenters submitted consumer 
survey evidence or consumer perception data. The Commission, therefore, 
is considering conducting its own consumer study related to consumer 
perception of environmental marketing claims. This study would aid the 
Commission in determining what revisions, if any, it should make to the 
Guides to ensure that the Guides are appropriately responsive to any 
changes in consumer perception of environmental claims.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ 72 FR 66091.
    \5\ See 72 FR 66094, Carbon Offsets and Renewable Energy 
Certificates (held on January 8, 2008); 73 FR 11371, Green Packaging 
Claims (held on April 30, 2008); and 73 FR 32662, Green Building and 
Textiles (held on July 8, 2008).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

III. Paperwork Reduction Act Notice

    As required by Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-21, 
the FTC is providing this opportunity for public comment before 
requesting that OMB approve the study. Under the PRA, federal agencies 
must obtain OMB approval for each collection of information they 
conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of information'' means agency requests 
or requirements that members of the public submit reports, keep 
records, or provide information to a third party. 44 U.S.C. 3502(3); 5 
CFR 1320.3(c).
    Specifically, the FTC invites comments on: (1) whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary

[[Page 60704]]

for the proper performance of the functions of the FTC, including 
whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy 
of the FTC's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of 
information; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of 
collecting information on those who are to respond, including through 
the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other 
technological collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses. All 
comments should be filed as prescribed in the ADDRESSES section above, 
and must be received on or before December 15, 2008.

IV. FTC's Proposed Study of Consumer Perception

    The FTC proposes to collect information from up to 7,000 consumers 
in order to gather data on consumer perception of environmental 
marketing claims. All information will be collected on a voluntary 
basis. The FTC plans to contract with a consumer research firm to 
identify consumers and conduct the study via the Internet. Among other 
things, the research firm will be expected to study a stratified sample 
of the adult United States population broadly representative of 
consumer group characteristics (e.g., geographic location, housing 
characteristics, gender, age, education, and race/ethnicity), relative 
to the most recent Census Bureau Current Population Survey.
    The FTC expects that selected respondents will be asked questions 
about a number of express or implied environmental marketing claim 
concepts, such as ``renewable'' and ``sustainable.'' Each concept may 
be featured in a separate module of questions. Such questions may 
explore perceptions about the unqualified general concept and 
variations on the concept. The results will assist the FTC in its 
review of the Green Guides by helping to ensure that the Green Guides 
are consistent with consumer perception of environmental marketing 
claims.
    The FTC is considering pre-testing the consumer questionnaires on 
approximately 100 respondents to ensure that all questions are easily 
understood. The FTC expects that the pre-test would take approximately 
25 minutes on average per person, approximately 42 hours total (100 
respondents x 25 minutes each). Once the pretest is completed, the FTC 
plans to seek information from up to 7,000 respondents for 
approximately 25 minutes each. Thus, answering the FTC's information 
requests will require up to 2,917 hours total (7,000 respondents x 25 
minutes each). Accordingly, cumulative total burden hours for the 
survey will be approximately 3,000 hours.
    The cost per respondent should be negligible. Participation is 
voluntary and will not require start-up, capital, or labor expenditures 
by respondents.
    By direction of the Commission.

Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8-24339 Filed 10-10-08: 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-S
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